Wednesday evening Steve and I went and had a belated birthday dinner of steak, salad and baked potatoes. It tasted so good after all the fast food etc. Thursday we were prayerfully anticipating a good report from the overnight test and around 2pm or so that’s what we received! The apnea test showed no signs of apnea or a couple other things I can’t remember and since there had been no episodes since early Wednesday morning, the on call pediatrician had submitted discharge papers!
By the time we left the hospital it was after 4 and we determined it would be too hard to get packed and on the road in enough time to get all the way back home by dark. We went back to spend our first night together as a family in the hotel. Not much sleep was had by mom or baby for that matter! Dad got a little more but by 6am mom woke Dad for the trade off so she could get a few winks.
We left baby town at about 10am Friday morning and reached our home sweet home at 8:30pm that evening. Two 1/2 days later than planned, but we were home! There were plenty of baby stops, for feeding and changing and almost as many mommy stops for potty breaks, plus a 3 hour traffic jam in the Seattle area and an ever so brief stop at Walmart to pick up some more formula.
Our dogs were very excited to see us but had been taken very well care of by our pet sitter/friend Tara-who graciously took care of them the few extra days at no cost! Thank YOU Tara!!
My sista friend and Molly’s Aunt Carrie had administrated the process of letting carpet cleaners in and showing them the rooms we needed etc so we would come home to a nice clean carpet. She also was instrumental in letting friends and family know, via email and phone calls all the updates along the way- she also left a lovely bouquet of roses and a balloon bouquet to welcome us home-THANK YOU so much for everything!!
Friend and house cleaner Alice V was able to come and get the house clean for us as well.(I just didn’t want to bring Molly home to a dirty house!)
My dear Aunt Pat and cousin Elaine had come and decorated the house-outside and in with everything from streamers, helium balloon bouquets and banners to a beautiful bouquet of long stem pink roses complete with a pink fuzzy stork! Thank you both-it was so neat to come home to such a festive welcome!
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Life Changing Moments
I like the tv show Dr. Phil. He doesn't claim to "heal" people in 60 minutes and we don't often get to see what happens to his guests after the show ends and they go home. Do most get better and take his advice and help to heart or not-I don't know. But I do know that he often has some pearls of wisdom that I remember long after the show is over. One such pearl was hearing him tell people to name the top 5 Life Changing Moments of their lives.
A Life Changing moment is where you are not the same person you were the moment before.
Molly's birth will now be among my top 5 Life Changing Moments.
Wednesday afternoon(still waiting for the Apnea test):
Because the nurses wanted Molly in the nursery several hours before her test and because some nurses didn’t believe it was ok for us to stay in the nursery with her all the time, we used Wednesday afternoon to go to a local Kinkos and get online to pay some bills, check email and post quickly to the blog. While there we got the call that M was being released and so we headed right back to the hospital to say goodbye.
Saying goodbye, to the person who was instrumental in bringing joy back into your world was a very hard thing. Steve and I had spent several hours of certainly one of the hardest days M and her boyfriend will ever face. We bonded with this young couple. We grew very fond of both of them. It was hard to walk in to Ms hospital room and watch as she did the right thing for this baby. I’ve often said in these last days that the right thing is not always the easy thing. I have lost a child to death and I can assure you that there is no other pain like it.
However, placing your child into the arms of a loving couple must also be very painful. I am proud of her. Proud that she made this decision, knowing it would be hard and against the advice of several important people in her life, because in her heart she knew it was the right thing for both she and her child and this baby. And we are honored that she thought enough of us to give us this priceless gift.
The young man who stood by M throughout this ordeal was not the baby’s father. I believe it takes a real man to do what he did. He certainly didn’t have to have anything to do with this situation. To my knowledge he only ever offered support to M. Perhaps he is not perfect, but then who of us is. I can only say that Steve and I are so glad he was there for M and that he is there for her now.
And we have pictures now to show Molly as she grows up, that we ALL loved her SO much-that her life story is one of nothing but love. Love of a birthmom and her family and boyfriend to make the sacrifice that would in the end be what was best for Molly, and the love of two people who thought their opportunity to be called Mommy and Daddy had died 4 years ago. I cannot express enough how much having Molly as our daughter means to Steve and I. She will always know of her birth mom and birth family. Eventually she will meet them. And her life will only be made richer by having more people to love her.
A Life Changing moment is where you are not the same person you were the moment before.
Molly's birth will now be among my top 5 Life Changing Moments.
Wednesday afternoon(still waiting for the Apnea test):
Because the nurses wanted Molly in the nursery several hours before her test and because some nurses didn’t believe it was ok for us to stay in the nursery with her all the time, we used Wednesday afternoon to go to a local Kinkos and get online to pay some bills, check email and post quickly to the blog. While there we got the call that M was being released and so we headed right back to the hospital to say goodbye.
Saying goodbye, to the person who was instrumental in bringing joy back into your world was a very hard thing. Steve and I had spent several hours of certainly one of the hardest days M and her boyfriend will ever face. We bonded with this young couple. We grew very fond of both of them. It was hard to walk in to Ms hospital room and watch as she did the right thing for this baby. I’ve often said in these last days that the right thing is not always the easy thing. I have lost a child to death and I can assure you that there is no other pain like it.
However, placing your child into the arms of a loving couple must also be very painful. I am proud of her. Proud that she made this decision, knowing it would be hard and against the advice of several important people in her life, because in her heart she knew it was the right thing for both she and her child and this baby. And we are honored that she thought enough of us to give us this priceless gift.
The young man who stood by M throughout this ordeal was not the baby’s father. I believe it takes a real man to do what he did. He certainly didn’t have to have anything to do with this situation. To my knowledge he only ever offered support to M. Perhaps he is not perfect, but then who of us is. I can only say that Steve and I are so glad he was there for M and that he is there for her now.
And we have pictures now to show Molly as she grows up, that we ALL loved her SO much-that her life story is one of nothing but love. Love of a birthmom and her family and boyfriend to make the sacrifice that would in the end be what was best for Molly, and the love of two people who thought their opportunity to be called Mommy and Daddy had died 4 years ago. I cannot express enough how much having Molly as our daughter means to Steve and I. She will always know of her birth mom and birth family. Eventually she will meet them. And her life will only be made richer by having more people to love her.
A Scary/Familiar Road
Next morning we were back at the hospital at 7:30. They gave us that same room again and we were the two most contented parents just holding our little one and pinching ourselves that we really were this blessed!
Approximately mid morning I was holding Molly and I looked down and her color went from pink to dusky blue quite rapidly. It didn’t look as if she was choking or anything but I jumped up and had Steve run for a nurse. They came in and told us that sometimes babys have junk in their throats from the birth and its sticky and gets caught in there. They also suggested we not over wrap her as babies only need one more layer than what we feel is comfortable.
We went back to our euphoria and a little later Ms boyfriend wheeled M down to our room to see the baby for the first time. She was holding the baby when again the baby turned bluish. This was quite upsetting to M and she was worried that she had done something wrong. I was upset too, but fortunately the Lord blessed me both at that moment and the previous day when M went into surgery-at being the calm one and so I jumped up took the baby and Steve ran to get the nurse again. This time the nurse ran the baby back into the nursery where they administered a little blow by oxygen and the baby “pinked” right back up. The baby did this again an hour or so later and again in the middle of the night. After that 2nd episode they kept the baby on an oxygen and heart rate monitor.
After the 2nd episode with M, it became apparent that we would not be leaving the hospital on Tuesday or even Wednesday. Angels again, Laura, her husband John and Beverly arranged payment for additional hotel days as well as covering the initial 4 nights we had planned on. This relieved so much stress for us- staying more time and so forth was not what we wanted to do but knowing we had a place to sleep and that the hotel portion of this adventure was paid allowed us to focus on Molly and her needs.
The pediatrician on call ordered an EKG, Eccocardiogram and a number of blood tests. When those all appeared normal, he ordered a 12 hour apnea test to be administered from 8pm on Wednesday to 8 am Thursday. Meanwhile after the nurses heard that Ms other child had had a hard time with reflux and ended up on the most expensive formula, they decided to change Molly to that formula and after the 2am episode another nurse decided to change the style of nipple, allowing Molly to use her strong suck but not get as much air in her tummy. The pediatrician also started her on Zantac twice per day.
Molly continued to stay in the nursery to await the Apnea test. After the change to the other formula, the nipple and the Zantac, we saw no more blue episodes.
Approximately mid morning I was holding Molly and I looked down and her color went from pink to dusky blue quite rapidly. It didn’t look as if she was choking or anything but I jumped up and had Steve run for a nurse. They came in and told us that sometimes babys have junk in their throats from the birth and its sticky and gets caught in there. They also suggested we not over wrap her as babies only need one more layer than what we feel is comfortable.
We went back to our euphoria and a little later Ms boyfriend wheeled M down to our room to see the baby for the first time. She was holding the baby when again the baby turned bluish. This was quite upsetting to M and she was worried that she had done something wrong. I was upset too, but fortunately the Lord blessed me both at that moment and the previous day when M went into surgery-at being the calm one and so I jumped up took the baby and Steve ran to get the nurse again. This time the nurse ran the baby back into the nursery where they administered a little blow by oxygen and the baby “pinked” right back up. The baby did this again an hour or so later and again in the middle of the night. After that 2nd episode they kept the baby on an oxygen and heart rate monitor.
After the 2nd episode with M, it became apparent that we would not be leaving the hospital on Tuesday or even Wednesday. Angels again, Laura, her husband John and Beverly arranged payment for additional hotel days as well as covering the initial 4 nights we had planned on. This relieved so much stress for us- staying more time and so forth was not what we wanted to do but knowing we had a place to sleep and that the hotel portion of this adventure was paid allowed us to focus on Molly and her needs.
The pediatrician on call ordered an EKG, Eccocardiogram and a number of blood tests. When those all appeared normal, he ordered a 12 hour apnea test to be administered from 8pm on Wednesday to 8 am Thursday. Meanwhile after the nurses heard that Ms other child had had a hard time with reflux and ended up on the most expensive formula, they decided to change Molly to that formula and after the 2am episode another nurse decided to change the style of nipple, allowing Molly to use her strong suck but not get as much air in her tummy. The pediatrician also started her on Zantac twice per day.
Molly continued to stay in the nursery to await the Apnea test. After the change to the other formula, the nipple and the Zantac, we saw no more blue episodes.
Monday, August 27, 2007
Molly's entry into this world
I truly do not understand why the doctor did not do an ultrasound that morning before he broke Ms water. Or at least why one wasn’t done at her final doctors appointment just 4 days before. Though I am a layman, it would seem the single most important factor in normal healthy delivery would be knowing what position the baby was in prior to birth.
Ms mother was understandably upset and frightened. She asked that I pray so she, Steve, I and Ms sister hugged while I prayed for God to be with M and the baby, to guide the surgeons hands and to bring everyone out of this situation healthy. I acknowledged outloud that both M and Molly were first God’s children and that He loves them even more than we do.
At just after 5:56pm a nurse emerged from the surgical room with Molly Faith bundled in a large warm blanket. Steve and I followed her in to the nursery where we watched Molly be weighed and measured and have her very first bath(which she loved).
M did really well during the Csection, there was only average bleeding and she was in recovery for about an hour and a half. I was worried about M but Ms mom encouraged me to be excited about the baby and that it was ok to feel this way. I know she had not always been supportive of the adoption so this meant a great deal to me.
We were able to stay in a room with the baby until about 11pm when we were encouraged to go get a good nights sleep by the nurses. I had given Molly her first bottle and each of us had held her continuously between calls to everyone back home about her birth.
Ms mother was understandably upset and frightened. She asked that I pray so she, Steve, I and Ms sister hugged while I prayed for God to be with M and the baby, to guide the surgeons hands and to bring everyone out of this situation healthy. I acknowledged outloud that both M and Molly were first God’s children and that He loves them even more than we do.
At just after 5:56pm a nurse emerged from the surgical room with Molly Faith bundled in a large warm blanket. Steve and I followed her in to the nursery where we watched Molly be weighed and measured and have her very first bath(which she loved).
M did really well during the Csection, there was only average bleeding and she was in recovery for about an hour and a half. I was worried about M but Ms mom encouraged me to be excited about the baby and that it was ok to feel this way. I know she had not always been supportive of the adoption so this meant a great deal to me.
We were able to stay in a room with the baby until about 11pm when we were encouraged to go get a good nights sleep by the nurses. I had given Molly her first bottle and each of us had held her continuously between calls to everyone back home about her birth.
Mollys story (continued)
M called us at the hotel Monday morning at 6. She was to be there between 7-7:30 for the induction. We hurried over and actually arrived before she did. Her cousin in law Sarah met us there as well as she graciously offered to care for M’s other child that day.
After being admitted to a room, the induction was started. Due to the conflicts of the previous day, only M’s mother and Steve & I were in the hospital room for the better part of the day. I believe M didn’t mind who was there necessarily-she just wanted peace.
The contractions began right away and it wasn’t too long before M asked for the epidural. Unfortunately the anesthesiologist was on an emergency surgery and she was forced to wait and endure quite a bit of pain. It was hard to watch her in pain and not be able to help. When the epidural was finally administered it only worked on half of Ms body and she continued to feel every contraction. I watched the contraction strength numbers rise each time on the monitors and am quite sure that if it had been me you would have heard me from here to there and back, but M was incredible. She just grabbed onto the bed rail and buried her head in the pillows. Sometime in the afternoon Ms boyfriend and her sister arrived from a 3 hour drive to get there. She was very relieved that he was there with her.
The 2nd epidural finally came but by this time I truly believe that M had gone through most of this labor unaided by medication. It seemed that the time would arrive shortly.
Because of my delivery of Cori and our several hospital stays, I am more aware of certain behaviors that happen when a situation becomes precarious. I don’t believe others there were aware but I had been watching the baby’s heart rate and the nurses were having little success keeping it up. At one point they had sent Steve, Ms boyfriend and sister out of the room to turn M over. I knew something was wrong. I went out and whispered in Steve’s ear that the baby’s heart rate was falling and he needed to start praying. Inside the room the once jovial and friendly nurse began issuing orders to call the doctor and get an ultrasound monitor in the room. I’m not sure at what point Ms mom realized something might be wrong but she asked and the nurse said she was sure everything was going to be fine but that she had felt the baby’s lips and wanted to make sure it was the lips on her face. The doctor and ultrasound arrived at the same time. His exam and the monitor showed that the baby was fully breech and in his opinion M needed to have a Csection sooner than later.
For those of you who know of or knew us when Cori was born you will understand when I say that as all this was happening, it was as if I was reliving Cori’s birth all over again. When a mostly typical labor turns into an emergent situation it’s a very scary thing. In less than 5 minutes we went from just about to see Molly be born to waiting outside a surgical unit.
After being admitted to a room, the induction was started. Due to the conflicts of the previous day, only M’s mother and Steve & I were in the hospital room for the better part of the day. I believe M didn’t mind who was there necessarily-she just wanted peace.
The contractions began right away and it wasn’t too long before M asked for the epidural. Unfortunately the anesthesiologist was on an emergency surgery and she was forced to wait and endure quite a bit of pain. It was hard to watch her in pain and not be able to help. When the epidural was finally administered it only worked on half of Ms body and she continued to feel every contraction. I watched the contraction strength numbers rise each time on the monitors and am quite sure that if it had been me you would have heard me from here to there and back, but M was incredible. She just grabbed onto the bed rail and buried her head in the pillows. Sometime in the afternoon Ms boyfriend and her sister arrived from a 3 hour drive to get there. She was very relieved that he was there with her.
The 2nd epidural finally came but by this time I truly believe that M had gone through most of this labor unaided by medication. It seemed that the time would arrive shortly.
Because of my delivery of Cori and our several hospital stays, I am more aware of certain behaviors that happen when a situation becomes precarious. I don’t believe others there were aware but I had been watching the baby’s heart rate and the nurses were having little success keeping it up. At one point they had sent Steve, Ms boyfriend and sister out of the room to turn M over. I knew something was wrong. I went out and whispered in Steve’s ear that the baby’s heart rate was falling and he needed to start praying. Inside the room the once jovial and friendly nurse began issuing orders to call the doctor and get an ultrasound monitor in the room. I’m not sure at what point Ms mom realized something might be wrong but she asked and the nurse said she was sure everything was going to be fine but that she had felt the baby’s lips and wanted to make sure it was the lips on her face. The doctor and ultrasound arrived at the same time. His exam and the monitor showed that the baby was fully breech and in his opinion M needed to have a Csection sooner than later.
For those of you who know of or knew us when Cori was born you will understand when I say that as all this was happening, it was as if I was reliving Cori’s birth all over again. When a mostly typical labor turns into an emergent situation it’s a very scary thing. In less than 5 minutes we went from just about to see Molly be born to waiting outside a surgical unit.
Molly's Story part 1
I wanted to share with everyone in a bit more detail just how miraculous bringing Molly home really was.
We arrived on Saturday the 18th and intended to spend Sunday the 19th (my birthday) enjoying a shopping spree at a SuperWalmart made possible by my dear friends Beverly and Laura(thank you guys SO much!) We learned that several members of our birth mom’s family wanted to meet us.
No one should ever think that something this monumental only affects the birth mom(M) and the adoptive parents-this (or at least in our case) does, impact an entire family.
And, like any blended family there are conflicts. Conflicts are always stressful and the 19th was especially so for everyone. I believe everyone involved wanted the best outcome for the situation and all hearts were in the right place, but sometimes we forget the goal line when we are in the skirmish.
We are glad that we were able to meet this family and appreciate how much everyone supported us and this adoption. We had a peaceful meeting with birth mom later that day and felt much better as we ended the 19th.
We arrived on Saturday the 18th and intended to spend Sunday the 19th (my birthday) enjoying a shopping spree at a SuperWalmart made possible by my dear friends Beverly and Laura(thank you guys SO much!) We learned that several members of our birth mom’s family wanted to meet us.
No one should ever think that something this monumental only affects the birth mom(M) and the adoptive parents-this (or at least in our case) does, impact an entire family.
And, like any blended family there are conflicts. Conflicts are always stressful and the 19th was especially so for everyone. I believe everyone involved wanted the best outcome for the situation and all hearts were in the right place, but sometimes we forget the goal line when we are in the skirmish.
We are glad that we were able to meet this family and appreciate how much everyone supported us and this adoption. We had a peaceful meeting with birth mom later that day and felt much better as we ended the 19th.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
She has arrived!
Molly Faith was born on August 20 at 5:56 pm! She weighed 7 lbs 12 ounces and was 19 inches long. She is beautiful! There is so much to tell and little time to tell it as we are still in baby town and Molly is still in the hospital. Molly has had a few little setbacks since birth and is currently having a overnight Apnic test. Please pray that she would have no apnic episodes and that she will be given an A-OK to go home! Pray for her tummy that the reflux she has been having would be completely healed and that her tummy would become like the iron of her new mommy(well if you don't count all the knots its been in of late!). We will post more and email friends and family once we are home but wanted all of you to know that Molly is now in our world and we are the most blessed two people to walk the planet! Please pray for Molly's birthmom-who had to have a C-section and is quite sore. Pray for her physical healing and her emotional healing. She is a wonderful young woman and we are honored to know her.
Friday, August 17, 2007
On our way!
Well folks this is it! We leave tomorrow morning for babytown. Of course there are a million thoughts running through my head right now and at least that many things to do before we leave but if you would have told me a year ago, or even 6 months ago that I would be going to watch my new baby daughter be born the day after my birthday-I would have seriously considered you for the funny farm!
When Cori Joy was born I remember just crying every time I looked down at her. I was so overwhelmed that the Lord had blessed me with her. When she died I felt as if He had fired me from the only job I ever loved. I don't feel that way anymore-Cori may have been a responsibility He entrusted to me. Cori's death was not a punishment for a job poorly done. For reasons only He knows, her time here only lasted 3 years 364 days, but her "story" continues. Perhaps He was preparing me for "such a time as this". He knows the end from the beginning and nothing is ever a surprise to him.
The love and lessons Cori's life and death taught me, prepared us for this miraculous blessing of Molly! She is going to be a very loved child! Her birthmother chose to bring her into this world because of love and with love will be placing her in our arms of love. May Molly's life reflect the words from the verse in Corinthians that says "now these three things remain, Faith, Hope and Love...but the greatest of these is Love".
Thank you all for your continued prayers for our safety driving over, for the delivery to go smoothly, Molly to be born healthy and that her birthmother would do well and that when we are released we also have a safe trip home.
We'll try to get online somewhere and post when she is born!
When Cori Joy was born I remember just crying every time I looked down at her. I was so overwhelmed that the Lord had blessed me with her. When she died I felt as if He had fired me from the only job I ever loved. I don't feel that way anymore-Cori may have been a responsibility He entrusted to me. Cori's death was not a punishment for a job poorly done. For reasons only He knows, her time here only lasted 3 years 364 days, but her "story" continues. Perhaps He was preparing me for "such a time as this". He knows the end from the beginning and nothing is ever a surprise to him.
The love and lessons Cori's life and death taught me, prepared us for this miraculous blessing of Molly! She is going to be a very loved child! Her birthmother chose to bring her into this world because of love and with love will be placing her in our arms of love. May Molly's life reflect the words from the verse in Corinthians that says "now these three things remain, Faith, Hope and Love...but the greatest of these is Love".
Thank you all for your continued prayers for our safety driving over, for the delivery to go smoothly, Molly to be born healthy and that her birthmother would do well and that when we are released we also have a safe trip home.
We'll try to get online somewhere and post when she is born!
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Garage Sale Part Two-a praise Jesus kinda day
To begin with NO rain and that is saying something for the strange summer the Pac NW has had! It literally waited to rain until all was put under the tents and we were back inside resting last night!
First I can't say more without a ton of thank yous. In no particular order:
To: Sue and Ed and Cheyenne-for Friday and Saturday-Cheyenne you are a superfantastic 11 year old, a great jar washer and the greatest customer ever! Sue, thanks for the donations and all the help setting up on Friday. Ed, greatest hotdogs ever! Sue you were essential to keeping all the customers happy and boxed up-no one had to juggle their treasures with you around-it kept them shopping and that was just what we needed!
To: my sista friend Carrie. For working late into the night Friday-getting us fed both dinner and breakfast the next day!! For managing the cashbox with accuracy and a smile to each customer! For helping box the remainder up after 8+ hours of duty-did you ever take a potty break??? Oh, and thanks for the awesome donations too!
To: Becca and Panina...two awesome teenagers who make a mean rootbeer float and helped whenever and whereever they were needed. Also for the contributions to the Smiley bank AND for keeping the laughter alive all day!
To: Naomi who took time out of 1 of only 2 days she gets off with her own chillens to help us raise money for ours! You are the bomb girl-thanks for coming by and pitching in!
To: Aunt Pat and Gloria for dropping off some of the best sellers we had-fishing poles and books!
To everyone who donated their quality stuff-we sold 3/4 of everything we had and everyone mentioned what a nice assortment we had-THANK YOU for your donations!
To: any of our customers-whether you shopped, or donated to our smiley bank or shared a hot dog or rootbeer float with us...THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU
Because of all of you we raised just over $800 on this sale!! This will help so much.
Also of note were the family from Florida who had read our story and had stopped by just to give us a donation! They had just adopted 2 months ago and brought their precious baby daughter to our sale. I didnt get to meet you but want you to know how special your visit is to us-we'd love to see you again next year when you are in town-Thank you so much!
There were items that would have been difficult to dispose of had they not sold or been given away-PTL that even those items found new homes.
And of the remainder of the items, imagine the blessing it was to hear this morning that our new friend and dog sitter Tara will take these things and sell them at her consignment shop and actually give us the full price for whatever they sell for-she's even going to pick them up! Another Praise Jesus moment!! Thank you Tara and hubby AND if anyone needs an awesome dog sitter-let me know, I'll pass on Tara's contact info!
There was some comic relief in the day as well(besides the giggling girls I mean). Our friend, neighbor and police officer Jon showed up at the sale reporting a theft...his own... Seems late Friday night he was walking his dog(2am) and decided to take a peek at the goods! Using the flashlight end of his taser he proceeded to find a few books and videos he'd like. We of course knew nothing of this until he came later in the day to 'fess up. Once here he decided on a few other treasures and actually called a friend down who bought some more....who says crime doesn't pay??? ha ha
And last but not least the tables and huge tents that Cascade Dafo loaned us for this event were a god send-everyone loved our set up and the tents provided a great respite from the raining walnut shells(its time for all good little squirrels to start storing up for winter you know!)-Thanks Cascade!!
So, we're just about a week away from the big day. Its exciting and scary all at the same time. But we know that God is in control. Just as He brought us through the hardest times, so He will bring us through these times. We'd appreciate your continued prayers this week. I'll try to post at least once more before we head to baby town!
First I can't say more without a ton of thank yous. In no particular order:
To: Sue and Ed and Cheyenne-for Friday and Saturday-Cheyenne you are a superfantastic 11 year old, a great jar washer and the greatest customer ever! Sue, thanks for the donations and all the help setting up on Friday. Ed, greatest hotdogs ever! Sue you were essential to keeping all the customers happy and boxed up-no one had to juggle their treasures with you around-it kept them shopping and that was just what we needed!
To: my sista friend Carrie. For working late into the night Friday-getting us fed both dinner and breakfast the next day!! For managing the cashbox with accuracy and a smile to each customer! For helping box the remainder up after 8+ hours of duty-did you ever take a potty break??? Oh, and thanks for the awesome donations too!
To: Becca and Panina...two awesome teenagers who make a mean rootbeer float and helped whenever and whereever they were needed. Also for the contributions to the Smiley bank AND for keeping the laughter alive all day!
To: Naomi who took time out of 1 of only 2 days she gets off with her own chillens to help us raise money for ours! You are the bomb girl-thanks for coming by and pitching in!
To: Aunt Pat and Gloria for dropping off some of the best sellers we had-fishing poles and books!
To everyone who donated their quality stuff-we sold 3/4 of everything we had and everyone mentioned what a nice assortment we had-THANK YOU for your donations!
To: any of our customers-whether you shopped, or donated to our smiley bank or shared a hot dog or rootbeer float with us...THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU
Because of all of you we raised just over $800 on this sale!! This will help so much.
Also of note were the family from Florida who had read our story and had stopped by just to give us a donation! They had just adopted 2 months ago and brought their precious baby daughter to our sale. I didnt get to meet you but want you to know how special your visit is to us-we'd love to see you again next year when you are in town-Thank you so much!
There were items that would have been difficult to dispose of had they not sold or been given away-PTL that even those items found new homes.
And of the remainder of the items, imagine the blessing it was to hear this morning that our new friend and dog sitter Tara will take these things and sell them at her consignment shop and actually give us the full price for whatever they sell for-she's even going to pick them up! Another Praise Jesus moment!! Thank you Tara and hubby AND if anyone needs an awesome dog sitter-let me know, I'll pass on Tara's contact info!
There was some comic relief in the day as well(besides the giggling girls I mean). Our friend, neighbor and police officer Jon showed up at the sale reporting a theft...his own... Seems late Friday night he was walking his dog(2am) and decided to take a peek at the goods! Using the flashlight end of his taser he proceeded to find a few books and videos he'd like. We of course knew nothing of this until he came later in the day to 'fess up. Once here he decided on a few other treasures and actually called a friend down who bought some more....who says crime doesn't pay??? ha ha
And last but not least the tables and huge tents that Cascade Dafo loaned us for this event were a god send-everyone loved our set up and the tents provided a great respite from the raining walnut shells(its time for all good little squirrels to start storing up for winter you know!)-Thanks Cascade!!
So, we're just about a week away from the big day. Its exciting and scary all at the same time. But we know that God is in control. Just as He brought us through the hardest times, so He will bring us through these times. We'd appreciate your continued prayers this week. I'll try to post at least once more before we head to baby town!
Thursday, August 9, 2007
Garage Sale Part 1
We are gearing up for the big Garage Sale Fundraiser on Saturday. Several people have been good enough to donate their "treasures" for the sale, thank you very much! We have a couple tents up with a couple more to go tonight and tomorrow will be the big pricing day and getting everything in place. As usually happens with garage sales there will be a ton of people first thing and then it usually comes in waves. We are hoping for a rain free morning, sunny afternoon and lots of hungry folks! Rootbeer floats, hotdogs, soft drinks and water will be sold to the masses!
We finished up the home portion of the home study this week. The attorney has sent all the paperwork to birthmom to sign and return-we are praying that happens by Friday or Monday at the latest so the atty can get an appt before the judge by Thursday next week.
We received a pack of paperwork with all the court filings etc. From everything we've read, the father of the child really should have no leg to stand on as far as rights to the child. We are praying however that he simply sees the writing on the wall and signs the paperwork without incident.
In preparing the room for Molly we ran into a couple snags. While Steve attempted to hook up some new electrical in the room, he is not an electrician and when you turned the light on another light in the room went off! :-)
A dear friend of ours came right over and was able to get us all hooked up!-Thank you David!
Steve's brother Bryan came over on Sunday and put some roof patch around some vents that have been causing leaking in both Cori/Mollys room and our guest room-Thanks Bryan!
Time has grown so short that while Steve was able to hang the drywall in the room himself, he didn't think he'd be able to get it taped and mudded and looking smooth enough to paint in the time we needed. Friends Lila & Lage told us of a friend of theirs who did amazing drywall work. A call to him and the next day he and another gentleman came out and viola' Cori/Mollys room is ready for paint!! -Thank you Sam and friend!
All these people did this for only our thanks-God bless you all!
God has been good to us through the giving hands of people like those above consistently through this process and we continue to trust that He who began a good work will carry it through to completion.
Stay tuned for Garage Sale Part 2...the aftermath!
We finished up the home portion of the home study this week. The attorney has sent all the paperwork to birthmom to sign and return-we are praying that happens by Friday or Monday at the latest so the atty can get an appt before the judge by Thursday next week.
We received a pack of paperwork with all the court filings etc. From everything we've read, the father of the child really should have no leg to stand on as far as rights to the child. We are praying however that he simply sees the writing on the wall and signs the paperwork without incident.
In preparing the room for Molly we ran into a couple snags. While Steve attempted to hook up some new electrical in the room, he is not an electrician and when you turned the light on another light in the room went off! :-)
A dear friend of ours came right over and was able to get us all hooked up!-Thank you David!
Steve's brother Bryan came over on Sunday and put some roof patch around some vents that have been causing leaking in both Cori/Mollys room and our guest room-Thanks Bryan!
Time has grown so short that while Steve was able to hang the drywall in the room himself, he didn't think he'd be able to get it taped and mudded and looking smooth enough to paint in the time we needed. Friends Lila & Lage told us of a friend of theirs who did amazing drywall work. A call to him and the next day he and another gentleman came out and viola' Cori/Mollys room is ready for paint!! -Thank you Sam and friend!
All these people did this for only our thanks-God bless you all!
God has been good to us through the giving hands of people like those above consistently through this process and we continue to trust that He who began a good work will carry it through to completion.
Stay tuned for Garage Sale Part 2...the aftermath!
Friday, August 3, 2007
In Everything Give Thanks
A bit of a scare yesterday. Melissa called, she had not been feeling well for a couple days, unable to keep even fluids down. She got an earlier appointment and they discovered a nasty kidney infection and dehydration. She was admitted to the hospital yesterday and as of this morning had gone through 3 bags of IV with still very concentrated output-so she was definitely low. They had a hard time getting the veins to not collapse and so she has several holes to show for it. Apparently she has a hard time remembering or thinking to drink water. She said she felt better this morning, has not thrown up(but they've been giving her some nausea meds) and they gave her something for sleep which helped tremendously. They may keep her one more day. She told me that the doctor has scheduled the inducement for the 20th!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We had thought the 23rd...for some reason those three little days seem to have turned this whole thing into warp speed for me! We'll likely travel on my birthday-imagine being a new mom again at 45(I can't!)
Thank you Lord for your healing hand on Melissa and Molly, thank you for time...even if at warp speed.
Thank you Lord for your healing hand on Melissa and Molly, thank you for time...even if at warp speed.
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